Tough Case
by Lily-Starbuck
Summary: Just a random piece of fluff. Catherine has a tough case.


Hey guys. Just a rando, little thing that came to me at about 2:30 am, and conspired with the heat to prevent me from sleeping. Pointless fluff!

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It was late. Catherine Willows entered her house, shutting and locking the door behind her. She deposited her purse on the table by the door, toed off her shoes and shrugged out of her jacket. She laid it over the back of the couch as she made her way through the darkened house, pausing briefly to give Hank an affectionate scratch on the head. He'd risen from his post outside Lindsey's door at the sound of her approaching footsteps.

Once inside her bedroom Catherine had quickly swapped her work clothes for pyjamas, manoeuvring to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She then silently slipped into bed, laying on her side and closing her eyes, willing sleep to arrive swiftly.

A minute or two passed before she felt the familiar weight of an arm wrap itself around her waist, and the comforting feeling of warm breath on her neck.

"You worked late." It wasn't an accusation, merely a statement of fact.

"I'm sorry. I guess time just got away from me." She felt, rather than heard his snort of disbelief.

"Cath, you've worked a double, nearly a triple. Something about this case must've bothered you to put that much time in. Talk to me." He pressed a soft kiss to her neck, and tightened his arm around her, punctuating his words.

She sighed deeply.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine. Go back to sleep." She squeezed his hand, an attempt at reassurance. He wasn't buying it, however.

"Cath." The mere tone of his voice told her that the conversation was far from over.

She sighed once more.

"It was a young girl. A freshman at UNLV. Originally from Louisiana. She'd been raped and murdered in her dorm room." Catherine paused and closed her eyes, fighting off the images of the pretty young thing that now lay in a cold locker in the morgue, the marks Doc Robbins' autopsy had left still blatantly visible on her fair skin. "We eventually found out it was a guy who lived down the hall from her. She rejected him during Fresher's week and he took it personally. This was his way of getting revenge." She stopped, feeling too foolish to say anymore. However, she didn't need to.

"And you're worried about the same thing happening to Linds when she goes away to the University of Maryland in the fall? And that you won't be around to protect her from anyone who wants to hurt her."

Catherine nodded, unable to contain the tears that filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, dropping silently onto the pillow under her head. She choked down the sob that was threatening to rise.

"I'm being ridiculous aren't I?"

His gentle chuckle vibrated through her body, creating a soothing affect on her frazzled nerves and weary muscles.

"Not ridiculous my dear. Just a mother who's apprehensive about her only child going to school a thousand miles away." He paused for a second, bringing his hand up to push her strawberry blond hair away from her face. "However, it doesn't help that you're a CSI who sees horrible things everyday, and have a penchant for expecting the worst." She smiled slightly at the truth behind his last statement. Over the years she had found that if she expected the worst from people or situations, then she was very rarely disappointed, and sometimes, she was even pleasantly surprised.

She was brought out of her reverie as his arms tightened once more, pulling her back closer to his chest.

"Stop thinking. Lindsey is a smart young woman who takes after her mother. Any guy who tries to mess with her is going to get his ass kicked." Catherine chuckled and turned in his arms until she was facing him. She brought a hand up to stroke his face before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Thank you. You always seem to know just what to say to make me feel better." She felt his smile against the top of her head as he rolled over and placed it onto his chest.

"One of the perks of having known you for over twenty years my dear. Now sleep. I know you're exhausted. We can talk more about it in the morning if you want."

Catherine snuggled closer to him, burying her head into his chest.

The last words from her lips before she drifted off to sleep were not connected to the case. They simply stated fact, as he had done earlier.

"I love you Gil."

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El Fin! Like I said, just a random piece of fluff! Let me know what yall think  
Lily  
-x-


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